Ride that Bike Gangsta

Having trouble with a clever title for this post, I reached back a couple of years and shared my favorite "pedestrian shout out.".  There is stiff competition in the top ten, but this is the best.  I was riding through Hartford's Northend on Main Street wearing some non-garish spandex when I passed a pair of 20-something black women walking in the opposite direction on the sidewalk.  I nearly fell off my bike giggling when one yelled out, "Ride that bike, Gangsta!"  Hartford has some damn entertaining street conversation.  If you're in a car with the windows up, you are missing masterpieces of comedy and snark.  After a couple years of immersion, I've gotten better at responding in kind.

Now that we've had our fun, it is time for more fun. Truthfully, I can't handle all this fun by myself.  In the interest of my personal sanity I'm spreading it around so that we can all carry the terrific burden.   Your responsibility is to further distribute this information.  I see that you're starting to understand the cooperative nature of our relationship.

Thursday, May 21st - East Hartford Bike and Walk to Work. 6:30-9:00am on Main Street right across the street from Pratt & Whitney. Free bike lights, reflective stickers, and of course, breakfast. Open to the public.  Those using CT Transit or car/vanpooling are also invited to come over for breakfast.

Sunday, May 31st - The CT Climate March at Hartford Earth Festival. Starting at noon from the State Capitol, marching (and riding) to the Earth Festival at the Hartford Riverfront.   As cyclists we're a bit more tuned into our Earth and what it's shouting at us.  We also know that one's quality of life can actually improve when one chooses sustainable, human powered transportation.  This is your opportunity to respond to clarion call to address human caused global weirdness.   Spread the word with this Facebook Event.

Sunday, May 31st - Ladies First, All Girls Alleycat.  Meet at Heaven, the skate and graffiti park in downtown Hartford on the I-84 overpass between Trumbull and Main or Market, at 12:00pm, at 12:30pm we RIDE (don't be late)!

Saturday, June 6th - Discover West Hartford Bicycle Tour. The first ride of the Discover Connecticut Series. 10, 25, and 50 mile routes.  Spread the word with this Facebook Event.

Saturday, June 6th - Wethersfield Bike Show and Swap Meet.  8:00am-12:30pm.  You can sign up to show and sell, or come over to check out the bikes and parts.  This is the event's second year, and I'm super stoked to see it return.

And never forget - Ride that bike, Gangsta!

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Tomorrow, I wear gloves

Brendan put on a great Eel and there was much bike diversity and trail diversity.  Only at an Eel will there be a Huffy and a Peter Mooney with pretty much everything in between.  I was nervous for Dario's skinny tires, but I think he only weighs 100 lbs - and they were sew ups.  We rode train tracks, rooty single track, sheer rock ridge, flood plain powder silt, sand pits, river bluffs, mud truck stomping ground, banked quad tracks, and even some paved roads.  The length of the ride was perfect.  Tired, but not bonked.

This is a time of change.  Change of season.  Change of outlook.  Changing out my summer clothes for the bin of wool socks and layers.  Putting on gloves in the morning and considering when it will be time to christen my new winter shoes.  Cold weather is a welcome change to me.   It gives me an excuse to pull out the feather comforter and double up my socks.  Things summer just won't support.  Tomorrow morning will be in the 30's and I'll get out the light gloves.

The Eel busted my saddle rail, but Terry said they would warranty.  Excellent.

As a bicycle commuter, I've found that hands are my first priority.  Holding onto the handlebar and actuating the brakes are activities requiring at least some functionality in my fingers.  Appropriate gloves are key to keeping my hands in a condition that isn't just comfortable, but useful.  Skiing mittens are capable down to about 5F, and they seem to work with both bar-cons and brifters.  Below that, I've heard that folks use silly looking Pogies to keep the wind off their mitts.  At that point, I typically just take a walk and put my hands in my pockets.

Feet are second, and become more important if the ride gets to be more than a half hour.  During the winter in Connecticut the roads are often clear and I'll go out for multi-hour rides with the temperature in the teens or 20's.  I'm seriously addicted to clipless pedals, which are evil when it comes to heat conduction away from your feet.  This summer (looking for sales) I upgraded to Lake MXZ303 boots.  They look much hardier than any other winter cycling shoe I've ridden, and I bought up a couple sizes for extra wool sock layers.  I have a suspicion that this year will be nearly into the comfort zone for my feet, whereas last year there was some near frostbite.  I'm getting ahead of myself.  It's not that cold out yet, and if you're bagging you bicycle commute right now you are an intolerable wimp.

In honor of the change of season I'll be making the work-a-day-commute a little less lonely with the first IceBike to Work of the season.  Thursday, October 31st, we will be informally meeting for breakfast at Maddie's in East Hartford.  Maddie's is on Main Street, right across the street from Pratt & Whitney.  Anyone passing by on bicycle, walking, or just curious about non-car transportation modes can stop by between 7AM-8AM and they will find some folks to chat with.  It seems the folks in Canada really take their winter bicycle commuting seriously.  They have an international conference or some such in February - International Cycling Congress.  Registration for the conference is north of $300 - that is f'ing serious.


Reminders for some upcoming bicycle goodness:

• Aforementioned IceBike to Work on Thursday, October 31st.
• There is this mysterious under promoted cyclocross race on November 5th in Colt Park.  I live right next to Colt Park, so I guess I'll wander down there to see what kinds of carbon, cross specific curiosities show up.
• Sunday, November 10th.  Traffic Skills 101 Course.  Taught by yours truly and the honorable Chris Brown.  Registration is open, but capped at 20 students.  Last I heard we already had 11 registered.
• Tuesday, November 12th.  Bike Walk Connecticut Annual Dinner and Silent Auction.  If you want to get a seat at my table let me know.  All you have to do is hand me two double sawbucks.

Everybody loves riding the train tracks into Middletown.

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Blow! Down!

The other night, it was windy. It kept me awake, but I didn't hear a lot of things crashing to the ground. However, trees falling in the forest, sound or not, end up all over the ground. Was it a hurricane? I haven't seen this much blow down since the Snoctober thing. Do trees snap easier when they've got less water in them due to cold temperatures and winter things? Are these questions answerable?

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Bizarre winters, my fault?

I was thinking today that back when I used to drive more (~25,000 miles/year), winters were much more normal. I remember this because I was bad at driving in the snow. Or, I bought bad tires. Or, a combination of the two. Now, I drive very little (~5,000-6,000 miles/year [Ed. note: I overestimated, it's about ~4,000-5,000. Dario gave me a hard time about driving too much]). It seems that the extra carbon I added to the air was what was keeping the weather regular. Or, it's because I moved to Hartford. Either way, it is definitely me to blame and no external forces.

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Probably not enough ice

I know Saturday is still ~30 hours away, but I am doubtful that enough ice will grow in Wethersfield Cove for my much ballyhooed ice race. I was down there today and there's ice and also many spot with exposed water. This is reminds me of the time Salem and I almost died at Kenney Cove. A story I might tell you some day.

Maybe by Sunday? Maybe a smaller body of water? Read more!

Ill prepared for the weather

I like winter riding and I like riding in the snow. I may not have a fat bike, but I've got fenders and I've even got studded tires. I've got some gloves, lights and a hat. Regardless of those things, I've been freezing my ass off the last few days because I can't remember how to dress. With the snow today, I think I finally had the right gloves and was adequately insulated. I can remember riding in tshirts in December last year or the year before last or something.

Today, there's a mild nor'easter. I went to Home Depot and the snow was the big flake, wet kind. The temperature has dropped like ten degrees and now the flakes are small. Maybe I'll go do something recreational later. Read more!

In what form will our punishment come?

First off, I want to thank Ms. Longstocking for bringing such controversy to our blog. We love it! The East Coast Greenway is a big deal, even the much maligned CT DOT bike map recognizes it. One would think that Google would at least incorporate that map as a starting point.

In her next post, I heard a rumor that she may take on the Apple and the iPhone. ;-)



Winter is drawing to a close, and unlike last year when it was nice and in the 50s, this year it's nice and in the 70s. In fact, the weather is nice, The Courant took a picture of Lucas in a hammock. I've been able to do lots of mountain biking and wear a tshirt.

So, at what cost? Will the stock market crash? Is it going to snow on Wednesday? Are we enjoying nice weather on the backs of those in New York and Fairfield county who've had trees fall on their cars?

Koi are in full effect again this year.

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NORAD Tracking Santa

Ho ho ho!

As you may know, NORAD tracks Santa. I was watching their video of Santa flying and was surprised to see him take off from a small island that was entirely surrounded by water. Santa lives at the North Pole, isn't that supposed to be frozen in the winter? (or all year) I emailed them with my concerns and all I got was this:

Thank you for emailing NORAD.

All of us here at NORAD are programming our satellites, calibrating
our radar systems, testing our Santa Cams, and flying training
missions in our jet fighters in preparation for Santa's 2008 flight.
Unfortunately, that leaves us little time to answer emails personally.

Please email us again on December 24th when a NORAD Santa Tracker will
be available to respond.

Happy tracking!
--
Warm Regards,
The NORAD Tracks Santa Team

This is even more distressing! Everyone at NORAD is getting ready to track Santa? Our skies aren't safe! Read more!

"Rell Signs Law Setting Caps on Emissions"

When I read the above titled article in the Courant I didn't think it really had anything to do with biking in Hartford but the more I thought about it, it really does.
For many of us, this is one of the major reasons we bike to work, school, the grocery store, the bar, etc. So what could be more important than legislature that will (hopefully) further encourage alternative (read: bike) transportation? Not much.

The article is quoted below or can be found here. Be sure to check out the comment section. If you are at all like myself it will baffle, amuse, frighten, and enrage you.

As a teaser here is my favorite comment:
"Finally!! Somebody is putting a cap on all those CO2 emissions coming from the State Capitol. Great idea. Oh, wait, this has nothing to do with gas bag politicians, just another attempt at causing an economic depression over the lies of anthropogenic global warming. Leftists love their pet phrases so they can all sound so hip; the newest one being "carbon footprint" . Yes, everybody is concerned about their "carbon footprint". Or so they say. What nonsense. Remember in the '80s when all the leftists were afraid Reagan was going to have the world nuked, the pet phrases of the era were "nuclear freeze" and "nuclear winter"? Well, Reagan put an end to the Soviet Union w/o a shot being fired. The leftists, sad that the evil U.S. won that round, had to pocket their "nuclear winter/ freeze" mantras for another era. But now that Iran is finally getting a nuclear weapon, it might be a good time to dust off the "nuclear winter/freeze" phrases. It's a lot closer to reality than man made global warming. That said, it's not to late for a special session to stem gas emissions from the state capitol and order that all elected officials drive hy-breds, instead of their gas guzzlers. Right Mr. Blumenthal?." - Alfred E Newman Esq. Wallingford, CT

Great eh? Well here is the article....

"As the U.S. Senate debated its global warming bill this week, Connecticut took a major step of its own toward addressing the issue.

Gov. M. Jodi Rell on Monday signed into law an act that sets mandatory caps on the emissions scientists say are warming the globe. To meet those goals, residents could see many changes in their daily lives over the next few decades, from the price they pay for electricity and the ways they commute to work, to the sources of energy they consume in vehicles and homes.

Exactly what those changes will be is up in the air: The law directs state agencies to produce an inventory of the state's emissions and take other measures to promote energy efficiency and set up incentive programs and regulations to encourage businesses and residents to do more to control greenhouse gas emissions.

The state already has a plan in place to address climate change. But the new law gives it some teeth by making the emissions cuts mandatory.

The law requires Connecticut to cut its output of carbon dioxide and other "greenhouse" gases 10 percent below 1990 levels over the next 12 years, and 80 percent below 2001 levels by 2050. The caps are even more ambitious than what is being proposed in national legislation sponsored by independent Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut and Republican Sen. John Warner of Virginia.

"By capping greenhouse gas emissions, we will reduce our carbon footprint, conserve energy and improve air quality in Connecticut while leading the way for the rest of the nation," Rell said in a statement.

Now seriously, don't click to read more, go click on this link and check out the comments! Read more!